Page 2 of Starting Our Chance

Mama fell into the chair next to me. Grabbing one of my hands, she squeezed it tight. “Always one to learn the hard way. I’m just glad you saw the sense I was trying to put in your head, girl! It could have been worse, but you’re back now, and we’ll get you all straightened out.”

Ha. She doesn’t know the half of it. But it was best she stayed ignorant. I played along, reformed in my desire, but it would take some time to align my ways to my new outlook on life. Before the panic could set in and give me away, I reminded myself that they wouldn’t come after me down here. I never took the money. They let me go, and I’m safe now.

Breathing out the tension, I turned to Mama, who was looking at me expectantly. “Mama, I need a job right now. I’m cash strapped.”

Her brows drew together. “I thought you were freelancing?”

Shit, I told her that. I had to practice to keep my story straight. “It takes time to be paid, Mama. I need cash now.” I laughed off how broke I was. That earned me a glare.

There was a knock on the side door that led to the mud room just off the kitchen. “Who could that be at this hour?” I asked Mama, blessing whoever was there for changing the topic, if only temporarily.

Just then a masculine voice filled the room, setting loose a frenzy of butterflies in my stomach.

I would know that voice anywhere. Duke.

I bolted out of my chair and instinctively moved toward the sound of his voice, before stopping and giving my instinct a firm shake. He might not feel the same anymore. And weren’t we supposed to be older now, more dignified? Sure, we were best friends as kids, but time and distance had taken away the closeness we once had.

Mama, thankfully, had also risen and gone to answer the door. She was filling him in on my sudden appearance in a roundabout way, answering his question about whose car was out front. My eyes were glued on the partition between the kitchen and mud room, astounded that Duke still lived next door! When he came into the kitchen, he removed his hat. Those piercing eyes found mine, but I couldn’t read the expression on his face. One thing was for sure, this boy—this man—he was the embodiment of home.

Standing there, frozen in the kitchen, I put aside all the thoughts swirling in my mind. Unleashing my instinct, I launched myself into his arms for a big old hug. But I only let it be a quick embrace because by the time his arms slipped around me, I was already pulling back, hiding the raw emotions in my chest with a sassy smirk. “Hi, there, Duke!” I took two more steps away from him and put my hands on my hips. “I’m back for a spell.”

I waited, breathless, for his reaction. My heartrate had picked up and was now hammering against the inside of my rib cage. I hadn’t seen him in ages, and Duke hadn’t changed other than bulking up his youthful frame with real man muscles. He had filled his shoes, so to speak.

Duke. The boy next door—the one with the sea green eyes and hair black as night. He’d had the sweetest lips I’d ever tasted. And when I had finally admitted my feelings for him, I had gone and quit this no-account town the very next morning. I was such a coward.

Mama cut in with, “Loretta Jane really needs the work, so is anyone town hiring and worthy of her talents?” Mama waved her hand in my direction as if my accomplishments were obvious to the naked eye.

Thankfully, Mama was carrying on the conversation. I heard my name multiple times, but my brain couldn’t comprehend what Mama was saying about me. It wasn’t until Duke nodded and said, “Yes Ma’am, Mrs. Forman, I do know of a few local places who are hiring,” that I became aware of what was being said.

“Oh!” I squeaked.

Duke’s brows drew together and he directed his next question to me. “Why here?”

He hasn’t even said ‘hello’. My chest felt instantly tight at his surly visage. I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, “I’m going to stick around for the foreseeable future, so anything that looks good on a resume. But it can be temporary until I find something more permanent and decide what I want to do down here. So, that means no grocery store or shop girl type.”

It was bravado—I was desperate enough to be anything so long as it was paid. I needed a restart. And this town seemed as good as any for such a change. But I couldn’t let Duke know that—he couldn’t see what a fraud I was.

“I might have a lead for you. May I ask on your behalf, then get back to you?” Duke flicked his eyes to my mama, before looking back to me.

I clapped my hands together once. “Absolutely! Thanks, Duke! Do you need my number?”

There it was—the ghost of his old smile. “If it hasn’t changed, I still have it.”

“It hasn’t.” I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, as my body suddenly lighted up like a fucking Christmas tree. He still has my number!

“Well, thank you again for the pumpkin pie, Mrs. Forman.” Duke nodded to my mama, who I knew was already thinking about rewashing the clean dish Duke had brought over, and then nodded to me. “I’ll be seeing you, Lore.”

When he left, I finally looked over to my mama. She was shaking her head.

“What?” I demanded.

“You should have snapped that boy up when you had the chance.”

“Oh, Mama, stop it. He’s just a sweet guy, and we’ve always been friendly.” But secretly, my mama’s words went straight to my head. Although not put into words, something just like that had been my instinctual reaction to seeing him again. But there was no way Duke carried a torch for me after all these years—not after the way I’d left things.

A few minutes later, I excused myself and went to get settled into my old room. All the frilly, chic décor was still there. As Mama couldn’t see me, I did a little spin and fell onto the snowy duvet. Rolling over, I lay on my stomach and stared out the eastern facing window. The eaves of the neighbor’s house were bathed in long shadows as the sun set.

Maybe there is more for me down here than I thought. Maybe coming home wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

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